She spoke to us a melodious sentence or two, and waved her beautiful
hand in which was a short ivory wand, evidently a scepter.

"She's probably giving us the keys to the city," whispered Stanley. He
edged nearer the fair one who had conducted us. "I sincerely hope
there's room here for us."

The open lane closed in on us. Men and women crowded about us speaking
to us and smiling ruefully as they realized we could not understand. I
noticed that, for some curious reason, they seemed fascinated by the
color of my hair. Red-haired men were evidently scarce there.

At length the beauty who had so captured Stanley's fancy, and who seemed
to have been appointed a sort of mentor for us, suggested in sign
language that we might want to return to our quarters.

It was a welcome suggestion. We were done in by the experiences and
emotions that had gripped us since leaving the _Rosa_ such an incredibly
few hours ago.

We went back to the second floor. I to my luxurious big apartment and
Stanley and the Professor to their smaller but equally comfortable
rooms.

* * * * *

A pleasant period slid by, every waking hour of which was filled with
new experiences.

The city's name, we found, was Zyobor. It was a perfect little
community. There were artisans and thinkers, artists and laborers--all
alike in being physically perfect beyond belief and cultured as no race
on top the ground is cultured.

As we began to learn the language, more exact details of the practical
methods of existence were revealed to us.

The surrounding earth furnished them with building materials, metals and
unlimited gas. The sea, so near us and yet so securely walled away, gave
them food. Which warrants a more detailed description.

We were informed that the manlike, two-armed fishes were the servants of
these people--domesticated animals, in a sense, only of an extremely
high order of intelligence. They were directed by mental telepathy
(Every man, woman and child in Zyobor was skilled at thought projection.
They conversed constantly, from end to end of the city, by mental
telepathy.)

Protected in their spined shells, which they captured from the schools
of porcupine fish that swarmed in Penguin Deep, they gathered sea
vegetation from the higher levels and trapped sea creatures. These were
brought into the subterranean chamber where our glass ball now reposed.
Then the chamber was emptied of water and the food was